As the general elections draws near and the current woes betiding Nigeria's economy lingers, a Forbes narrative says Africa's largest oil producer could be heading for an economic crisis in the near future.

Excerpt:
In March, the government shifted the benchmark price oil in its budget down to $53 per barrel, down from $65. Capital expenditure will need to be cut, as will subsidies on fuel.

The currency, the naira, has been battered as a result. The Central Bank of Nigeria runs a dirty float, using oil funds to maintain a target rate of between N160-176 to the dollar. Trying to keep that peg in place has cost the country dearly. On just one day in February — Friday 13 — the CBN sold more than $400m to support the currency. Ultimately that has failed, with the naira stabilising at close to N200 to the dollar. On the black market, that is often higher, at around N214 to the dollar.

This has caused huge problems for companies who have borrowed in dollars but earn their revenues in naira.

Speaking privately, a number of senior Nigerian bankers and businesspeople say they are hoping for the best — but preparing for disaster. In the oil sector, executives say they have gone into survival mode, and several previous darlings of international investors have come close to the wall.

With a new government taking up a weak or disputed mandate, an economy in need of reform, a moribund oil sector and stress in the banking sector, it is hard to find many positives in Nigeria’s immediate economic future.

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